The scene begins in the yard of an office building, where archives are being thrown out the windows and burned in piles. Soldiers are moving various objects such as paintings, carpets and chairs. Schenck, wearing a white coat sees the soldiers and his adjutant Max Müller throwing out files. Müller tells him that they're leaving, as Clausewitz has started. Schenck then asks who's going to look after the soldiers and the people. His adjutant frankly said he doesn't know, which Schenck sees as madness.